Wines from Umbria

1993 – marco Caprai stood in his vineyards and looked back on a quarter of a century that his father Arnaldo had begun in 1971 with a dream: to create a world wine from a forgotten Umbrian vine. Ten years of research lay behind him: collaboration with the University of Milan, clone selection, the risk of vinifying the Sagrantino dry instead of sweet. For the 25th anniversary, he wanted to make a statement: the ultimate Sagrantino, the essence of everything he and his father had learnt. The 25 Anni was born – and the wine world held its breath. What followed is legend. In 2000, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones chose this wine for their wedding. Luigi Veronelli proclaimed Sagrantino as one of Italy's greatest red wines. Montefalco was transformed from a sleepy village into a Mecca for wine tourism. And the 25 Anni remained – year after year, vintage after vintage – the flagship of this Umbrian revolution. It comes from the best vineyards in the Val di Maggio, a meticulous clone selection of pure Sagrantino from vines rooted with six to eight thousand plants per hectare.

On a hill above Orvieto, surrounded by woods and olive groves, stands a medieval castle. The Castello della Sala has belonged to the Marchesi Antinori for generations – but it owes its wine fame to a single moment: in 1985, when Renzo Cotarella pressed the first Cervaro della Sala in the cellar of this castle. One of the first white wines in Italy to ferment in barriques, which underwent malolactic fermentation and was designed for ageing and complexity. An experiment that became a benchmark. The name Cervaro honours the Monaldeschi della Cervara – the 14th century nobility who once owned the castle. The soil dates back to the Pliocene, rich in marine shell fossils, clayey and calcareous, at an altitude of 220 to 470 metres. 95 percent Chardonnay, 5 percent Grechetto – the international character of Chardonnay tamed and grounded by the local accent of Umbrian Grecchetto. The Chardonnay ferments and matures in barriques with partial malolactic fermentation; the Grechetto never comes into contact with wood – it brings tension, freshness, a vertical energy that keeps the wine upright. Ten months of bottle ageing in the Castello cellars before leaving the castle.

The famous Castello della Sala is situated on a hill above Orvieto – a medieval stronghold surrounded by woods and olive groves, deep in the Umbrian silence. The Marchesi Antinori have owned it for generations, but what made it a wine legend was the first Cervaro della Sala in 1985: a white wine that was conceived as a red wine – barrique fermentation, malolactic fermentation, long breath. Making a white wine that would last for decades was not a matter of course in Italy at the time. But it became one. The vinification follows a principle that Renzo Cotarella once formulated and that still applies today: as little intervention as possible. The Castello winery works with gravity – no mechanical pumps, no unnecessary stress for the grapes. The harvest begins in the early hours of the morning when the temperatures are still cool. The Chardonnay macerates on the skins for four hours at 10 degrees, then ferments in barriques and matures in partial BSA. The Grechetto remains consistently in steel – it provides the tension that Chardonnay alone cannot deliver. The two come together in February.

The "25 Anni" from Caprai has been THE ambassador for Umbria's top wines for many years. It captivates with a beguiling bouquet that combines black fruits with citrus fruits, exotic spices, a hint of oregano, menthol and a hint of cocoa. The texture is more like pure silk, delicately lapping the palate, leaving a satisfying mix of intense dark fruits, minerals and fine-grained tannin. There is so much depth and concentration to work with that even when it finishes youthfully structured and dry, it lingers for well over a minute with notes of redcurrant, sage and dark chocolate. This exceptional Sagrantino is undisputedly not only Caprai's top wine, but also one of Italy's most characterful wines, which, with a little more ageing, is an incredible pleasure and should therefore definitely be aerated for 3-4 hours when young. SUPERIORE.DE

The famous Castello della Sala is situated on a hill above Orvieto – a medieval stronghold surrounded by woods and olive groves, deep in the Umbrian silence. The Marchesi Antinori have owned it for generations, but what made it a wine legend was the first Cervaro della Sala in 1985: a white wine that was conceived as a red wine – barrique fermentation, malolactic fermentation, long breath. Making a white wine that would last for decades was not a matter of course in Italy at the time. But it became one. The vinification follows a principle that Renzo Cotarella once formulated and that still applies today: as little intervention as possible. The Castello winery works with gravity – no mechanical pumps, no unnecessary stress for the grapes. The harvest begins in the early hours of the morning when the temperatures are still cool. The Chardonnay macerates on the skins for four hours at 10 degrees, then ferments in barriques and matures in partial BSA. The Grechetto remains consistently in steel – it provides the tension that Chardonnay alone cannot deliver. The two come together in February.

The "25 Anni" from Caprai has been THE ambassador for Umbria's top wines for many years. It captivates with a beguiling bouquet that combines black fruits with citrus fruits, exotic spices, a hint of oregano, menthol and a hint of cocoa. The texture is more like pure silk, delicately lapping the palate, leaving a satisfying mix of intense dark fruits, minerals and fine-grained tannin. There is so much depth and concentration to work with that even when it finishes youthfully structured and dry, it lingers for well over a minute with notes of redcurrant, sage and dark chocolate. This exceptional Sagrantino is undisputedly not only Caprai's top wine, but also one of Italy's most characterful wines, which, with a little more ageing, is an incredible pleasure and should therefore definitely be aerated for 3-4 hours when young. SUPERIORE.DE

Nibbio is a truly outstanding Chardonnay, hand-picked from a vineyard of just over one hectare on Monte Nibbio in Umbria, which is situated at a lofty height of 520 metres above sea level and belongs to the Castello della Sala estate. The site has cool north-eastern exposures and dense forests at lower altitudes that insulate the temperature. It is the second vintage of the latest passion project of Piero Antinori and his famous OenologistRenzo Cotarella. Nibbio combines Antinori's winemaking traditions with the unique characteristics of the terroir and follows on seamlessly from the path taken 35 years ago with Cervaro della Sala.

High above the Umbrian hills, where the shadows of Monte Nibbio cast their shadow over the ancient walls of the Castello della Sala, a bird of prey circles over a dream that has been decades in the making. Nibbio – the red kite – gave this mountain its name, and today the most ambitious white wine in the entire Antinori empire bears the same name as the majestic bird of prey that has watched over this spectacular landscape for centuries. It is the story of a man and his vision: Renzo Cotarella, winemaker and CEO of Antinori, was born here in Umbria and for decades cherished a dream that bordered on obsession. While the world celebrated Antinori's Tuscan red wine legends, Renzo saw something else – a terroir on Monte Nibbio that could produce the best white wine in Italy. A bold claim for a region that stands in the shadow of famous Tuscany, but Renzo had to prove it. Not only to himself, but also to Piero Antinori, who remained sceptical for years until he finally capitulated and even gave Nibbio his personal signature as the only wine of the entire Antinori dynasty.

Nibbio is a truly outstanding Chardonnay, hand-picked from a vineyard of just over one hectare on Monte Nibbio in Umbria, which is situated at a lofty height of 520 metres above sea level and belongs to the Castello della Sala estate. The site has cool north-eastern exposures and dense forests at lower altitudes that insulate the temperature. It is the second vintage of the latest passion project of Piero Antinori and his famous OenologistRenzo Cotarella. Nibbio combines Antinori's winemaking traditions with the unique characteristics of the terroir and follows on seamlessly from the path taken 35 years ago with Cervaro della Sala.

The famous Castello della Sala is situated on a hill above Orvieto – a medieval stronghold surrounded by woods and olive groves, deep in the Umbrian silence. The Marchesi Antinori have owned it for generations, but what made it a wine legend was the first Cervaro della Sala in 1985: a white wine that was conceived as a red wine – barrique fermentation, malolactic fermentation, long breath. Making a white wine that would last for decades was not a matter of course in Italy at the time. But it became one. The vinification follows a principle that Renzo Cotarella once formulated and that still applies today: as little intervention as possible. The Castello winery works with gravity – no mechanical pumps, no unnecessary stress for the grapes. The harvest begins in the early hours of the morning when the temperatures are still cool. The Chardonnay macerates on the skins for four hours at 10 degrees, then ferments in barriques and matures in partial BSA. The Grechetto remains consistently in steel – it provides the tension that Chardonnay alone cannot deliver. The two come together in February.

1993 – marco Caprai stood in his vineyards and looked back on a quarter of a century that his father Arnaldo had begun in 1971 with a dream: to create a world wine from a forgotten Umbrian vine. Ten years of research lay behind him: collaboration with the University of Milan, clone selection, the risk of vinifying the Sagrantino dry instead of sweet. For the 25th anniversary, he wanted to make a statement: the ultimate Sagrantino, the essence of everything he and his father had learnt. The 25 Anni was born – and the wine world held its breath. What followed is legend. In 2000, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones chose this wine for their wedding. Luigi Veronelli proclaimed Sagrantino as one of Italy's greatest red wines. Montefalco was transformed from a sleepy village into a Mecca for wine tourism. And the 25 Anni remained – year after year, vintage after vintage – the flagship of this Umbrian revolution. It comes from the best vineyards in the Val di Maggio, a meticulous clone selection of pure Sagrantino from vines rooted with six to eight thousand plants per hectare.

The "25 Anni" from Caprai has been THE ambassador for Umbria's top wines for many years. It captivates with a beguiling bouquet that combines black fruits with citrus fruits, exotic spices, a hint of oregano, menthol and a hint of cocoa. The texture is more like pure silk, delicately lapping the palate, leaving a satisfying mix of intense dark fruits, minerals and fine-grained tannin. There is so much depth and concentration to work with that even when it finishes youthfully structured and dry, it lingers for well over a minute with notes of redcurrant, sage and dark chocolate. This exceptional Sagrantino is undisputedly not only Caprai's top wine, but also one of Italy's most characterful wines, which, with a little more ageing, is an incredible pleasure and should therefore definitely be aerated for 3-4 hours when young. SUPERIORE.DE

High above the Umbrian hills, where the shadows of Monte Nibbio cast their shadow over the ancient walls of the Castello della Sala, a bird of prey circles over a dream that has been decades in the making. Nibbio – the red kite – gave this mountain its name, and today the most ambitious white wine in the entire Antinori empire bears the same name as the majestic bird of prey that has watched over this spectacular landscape for centuries. It is the story of a man and his vision: Renzo Cotarella, winemaker and CEO of Antinori, was born here in Umbria and for decades cherished a dream that bordered on obsession. While the world celebrated Antinori's Tuscan red wine legends, Renzo saw something else – a terroir on Monte Nibbio that could produce the best white wine in Italy. A bold claim for a region that stands in the shadow of famous Tuscany, but Renzo had to prove it. Not only to himself, but also to Piero Antinori, who remained sceptical for years until he finally capitulated and even gave Nibbio his personal signature as the only wine of the entire Antinori dynasty.